The Hero's regrets
by Sureality624
Summary: Sans gets a letter from someone in a mysterious hood, but quickly finds out that it's a different version of him. What could be wrong, everybody was saved, and all has become well in the world. But Frisk knows, he knows about the one person who wasn't, and he feels tempted to turn away his happiness at an attempt for power, power to free the one he couldn't save.
1. Those Lost

Edit: These first two chapters I'm not very proud of, and I was a bit over-excited while writing them, and just kind of wanted to make all of the things happen as quickly as possible. However, I think instead of re-writing them, as this is my first piece of writing, I think I'll use it as a then and now segment for later. Chapter three is when my writing and ability to control myself start to form, so if you're willing to bear with me, I hope you will find the later content to be much more enjoyable.

The letter had been there for almost a week. Sans had not opened it, for fear of what it held. Knowing that he had time travelling capabilities, it was obvious who the person who handed it to him was, however, he was afraid that the perfection of the new world would be ruined if he read this letter. "I've been stuck in an infinite loop of apathy for such a long time… I don't want to go back… I don't want to read whatever this letter contains… I just want things to be the same…" Now that humanity and monsters were finally coexisting peacefully, and it seemed like everything was going to be perfect, someone hiding in a hoodie had come up to Sans, and given him this. The most horrible thing about all of this, is that he had that exact same envelope sitting on his window seal, so it was much more than a possibility that it was from himself. Sans's eyes darted around the room, making sure that nobody else would be there to sneak a peek. "Oh for the love of god… fine, I'll bite…" He opened the envelope, straight away he was able to recognize his own handwriting.

Dear Sans,

I know that you will not want to hear this, but there really is no other option at this point. I know that you feel the best you ever have right now, but there is a major flaw with your timeline that you need to try to fix. Your friend Frisk, well… he's gone on a timeline rampage I'm afraid. He constantly resets timelines, and he goes on murderous rampages, killing everybody, even you and Papyrus. You may think, "There's absolutely no way frisk would do such a thing." You'd be right to assume that, but when he resets, something takes Frisk's body. A being lost in time and space. I'm not sure how, or what means were used to do so, but I do know what caused Frisk to reset in the first place. He wanted more power, but not in the way that one would typically expect. He didn't want to become all powerful, and destroy everything, he just wanted enough power to save the one person in your timeline that he couldn't save. You can't tell, but behind the façade of "Oh, look at me, I'm the happy charismatic monster ambassador," he's actually losing his mind to it. There was someone he didn't have the strength to save, and despite his best efforts, he could only temporarily regain him. You must approach him about this, and figure out a way to fix that problem, lest he become taken over in his lust to save absolutely everybody.

Yours truly,

A fellow time enthusiast

Sans was silent for the longest time, and with good reason. The letter had been as vague as possible, and asked something he didn't even know happened. "I thought that the kid saved everybody… who was left other than…" Sans stopped talking aloud, as he heard footsteps outside his door.

"Sans! Aren't you coming down for dinner? I, The Great Papyrus would be very disappointed if you didn't come have some spaghetti," Papyrus sighed "and yes… I bought you some ketchup from Grillby's, because I felt like you were having a bad time lately." Papyrus said, compassion in his voice.

"Nah, I'm good bro… I'm not really hungry… besides, aren't you always telling me that skeletons shouldn't drink things because they go right through them?" Sans said meekly. Hearing this, Papyrus stood right outside Sans's room.

"Okay, what's the matter? You and I both know that the last time you turned down ketchup because I told you it was unhealthy was… well, not applicable, because it never happened, and I'm not even going to remark on that 'passing through me' thing!" Papyrus exclaimed.

"Well, being a skeleton, I'm not sure if I can… STOMACH eating right now." Sans said, partially trying to lighten his own mood. Papyrus stared at Sans's door distastefully

"On second thought, you can microwave it when you feel up to eating…" papyrus said while he walked away to his room. Sans had decided that he had to do the right thing, and go and talk to Frisk.

"Bro, I'm going to go out to eat actually, I've been dying to try that Mettaton face steak, so it's going to be quite a walk, don't wait up for me." Sans yelled, expecting a response, but there was no reply. Sans strode through Snowdin, gathering his calm and cool, before teleporting over to the ruins. Sans looked around when he arrived, and noticed that pathetic looking flower over in the corner. The flower seemed to be muttering something, but Sans ignored it, and went to Toriel's house. Sans knocked on the door, and Frisk answered.

"Hey Sa-" Frisk was cut off by sans

"Kid, I need you to spill the beans about what happened on the day that you shattered the barrier." Sans looked desperate, staring into frisks eyes.

"…I told you before… I really don't like to remember that day…" Frisk stared down at his hands.

"Frisk… I need to know… you never know, I might be able to help you with some things, if you'd just give me a chance." Sans was starting to lose hope at this point, he'd tried countless time before to get him to spill the beans, why would this time be any different?

"Sans… I'm not even the one who needs help…" Frisk started to cry silently.

"Then tell me who does frisk… I hate to see you hold all of this in… you're not alo-" Sans was cut off by Frisk's scream.

"It was Asriel! Asriel Dreemurr! Asgore and Toriel's son!"


	2. Impatient Achievement

Notes: Wow, I just posted this story last night, and it already has 31 views on it! It's quite the honor, really. Feel free to send me any critiques or reviews, and I'll try to fax as many things as I can, so that you guys get the best possible experience from the story. Anyway, on with the story!

Sans was perplexed. "Kid… I want to believe you, but… Asriel's been dead for a long time. How did you manage to encounter him?"

"Because Sans," Frisk started, "Because Flowey was given determination by Alphys in her experiments, and he has the dust of Asriel on him, and when Flowey stole all of those souls, he transformed temporarily into Asriel…" Sans looked at the ground solemnly.

"…Kid, there has to be a way to get him back… Without doing what I know you're thinking about doing…" Sans started to cry a little. "We're your friends… we will help you through anything kiddo!" Frisk turned towards Sans.

"Sans, do you really mean it? Do you really think we'll be able to bring back Asriel?" Frisk asked hopefully.

"Kiddo, considering all the things you've done, you could probably do it alone, however, without us skeletons…" Sans paused, and Frisk face-palmed before they both said in unison

"You'd get very BONE-ly!" Frisk laughed at this, and realized that it was true. After all, his previous adventure had only been possible because of his friends.

"Kiddo," Sans began, "you know your friends would do anything for you." Frisk smiled and nodded.

"You're right Sans, but where do we start?" Frisk questioned

"Well," Sans thought "How much power does he need?"

"Six human souls, and all of the souls of the monsters in the underground, so it took seven human souls' power to make him Asriel again." Frisk explained, "and I have control over the six human souls that Asriel had, I just can't absorb them, being, you know, not a monster and all that good stuff…" Frisk trailed off.

"Hey, uh… kiddo," Sans inquired worriedly, "What's the matter?" Frisk ran off, but sans kept right up with him. "Kiddo, what're you doing? There's nothing over there except… Kiddo! No! Don't!" Frisk was getting ahead of sans, his determination fueling him to go faster and faster. He saw the flower at the end of the corridor, at last, this was how he was going to save the one person he couldn't! Frisk stopped suddenly, Sans had teleported in front of him, an angered look on his face. "Kiddo… I can't let you do this… there has to be another way… I can't stand losing another friend I could have helped…"

"Sans… this is my one regret… and I'm tired of living with it… Asriel is the only one innocent enough to moderate things justly… and untainted by ideology or bias…"

"Kiddo please… don't leave us… don't leave me… … you were the reason I was finally happy… you were the source of my determination… not just mine, but all of ours! Why won't you let us help you? Why won't you let us help you through it?"

"Because," Frisk stammered, "I've been through the timeline… and all of the attempts fail… at least this way, you don't feel like all you had was not enough…" Sans reached out for frisk's hand, but frisk tore out his own soul, and granted all of them to Flowey. Flowey stopped muttering and sulking in the corner, and quickly, began to change, he glowed a blindingly bright light, and a minute or so later, a teen-looking goat dressed in a battle robe was floating over where Flowey once was. Asriel looked up, and saw Sans standing there, his eye sockets a pitch-black. Asriel looked around, trying to figure out what had caused him to re-awaken. "Wh-where… am… I?" Asriel stammered. "Wh-who are you?" Sans laughed a laugh he had never laughed before, a deep, menacing laugh.

"Me? I'm Sans… As for where you are… You're standing on my friend Frisk's fresh grave…"


	3. Insecurity

Note: In my two previous chapters I was kind of hyped to be writing, so I kinda rushed things a bit, apologies for that. I could have probably written those two chapters in a much less hyper manner, and I promise to do that from now on. Appreciation to all of you who enjoy this story, I hope that it will only get better from here! My hope is to add 1-2 chapters per day, and I hope you all enjoy the story!

Sans took a deep breath, trying not to feel angry towards the re-awakened prince, but he just kept crying. He had done his job, but at the one cost he wasn't willing to give. Asriel had a worried look over his face, as he noticed Frisk's body fall to the ground with a thud that everybody felt. Sans stood there, his eye sockets empty, his hand still held out in Frisk's fallen body. Sans started to chuckle.

"Why would… he do that? I told him to forget about me… I… I never wanted him to…" Sans teleported over to Asriel, his eye glowing blue.

"This… is NOT… how you're going to be… he… he gave… … you have NO RIGHT to be self-pitiful now… he gave all he had to give… times seven… and… I can't change that… but… you are NOT going to waste your life that you were re-given…" Sans exclaimed.

"…I'm sorry… I'm just… shocked…" Asriel stammered.

"…I'm not taking you anywhere… you have the power to do anything you want… start by making your return." sans vanished, leaving just Asriel and Frisk's body.

"Frisk… you had everything you could have wanted in your life… you had friends… you had power… you had everything… why would you go and do something like this, removing yourself from all of your friends' life… now you just left me here with nobody… … why? I didn't ask you to save me… I didn't ask for this power… I didn't ask for any of this…" Asriel regained himself. "But if this is what you really wanted Frisk… then that is the least I can do…" Asriel picked up Frisk's body, and using his powers, found the location of his mother. He floated towards her new house on the surface, wearing a purple and white cloak to avoid detection, and wrapping his arms around his deceased friend, the only true friend that he had ever had, and that was a during a brief period of time where he tried to kill him, and he wound up being unable. "Who knows," Asriel thought to himself, "If I'm even going to be able to rule over this world in the just way that Frisk wants me to… but again, it's not like I really have a choice… if I don't try, I'm just letting Frisk down… Why did he have to give this power to me? Why couldn't he have given it to somebody else? Or spread it across multiple people…? Nevertheless… I will try my best for him… to redeem myself for all of the sins that I have attempted, even if not as myself, as Flowey…" He reached the house he detected his mother's presence in, and timidly knocked on the door.

"Frisk? Where did y- hey, wait a minute, you're not… Frisk…" Toriel stopped as she saw Frisk in the figure's arms" Toriel snatched the body away, ignoring the white goat hands that were previously holding the body "Frisk! No! WH-why? WH-what happened to you my child?! Please! Say something, anything! Stay determined Frisk! You mean so much to so many people, why would you do this to yourself?!" Toriel was weeping uncontrollably, placing her hand over the soul-shaped hole in frisk's chest, before looking back at the figure "WH-who are you, a-and how did you find him like this?!"

"…I wish I didn't have to be saying this… but… he died… to save me…" Asriel hid in the hood of his cloak, unable to show his face to his mother.

"Who are you to have someone as important as this save you? He meant everything to me! And to so many other people too! Just, why would he chose to sacrifice all he had for YOU?!" Toriel shouted in a depressed fury.

"…I am nobody to deserve his sacrifice… I was lost long ago… I told him to forget about me… but… he wouldn't…" Asriel started to cry.

"…wait… that marking, on the center of your cloak…" Toriel started to inquire.

"N-No! D-Don't look at it!" Asriel panicked, and hid it with his hand, which Toriel quickly identified as very similar to hers.

"Who are you…? Take off your hood." Toriel demanded, But before Asriel could react, she removed it herself, and then stumbling backwards, as if she'd seen a ghost.

"…Mom…" Asriel started.

"Asriel! It… It really is you isn't it?! WH-Why would Frisk sacrifice himself to save you, And… and… how did he even do it?"

"That's a story for another time. In the mean-time, I need your help to try and get my presence known without… well… causing chaos."

"My son, there will be chaos no matter what, at least a little bit. Keep in mind, you have been gone from us for a very long time…" Toriel said in a pseudo-understanding tone, trying to hide her woes.

"Well, I want there to be as little chaos as possible… I've already done enough…"

Drama! Sadness! Suspense! How will everybody take the new arrival? Tune in next time, on MTT Network! No, but seriously, I do appreciate everybody supporting this story. Every time I see the view number go up it just feels so much more exciting, knowing you guys and gals are reading this, so thank you all! Remember to leave any criticism in a review or PM, and I'll keep an open mind about improvement!


	4. Broken News

Note: sorry this chapter is a little shorter than usual, i wanted to take some time to explain how Sans was handling it, but i just couldn't come up with much. Next chapter i promise will be back to normal, and i'll stop switching perspective, and just kind of let people wonder a bit.

Sans was enraged, no, enraged was too formal, he was straight up demented after experiencing what just happened, he teleported back to his house, and slammed on Papyrus's door

"Papyrus! There's something going on! It's about the kid!" Papyrus answered his door with a confused expression.

"Sans? You're angry Sans. I've never seen you angry. Is this another one of your pranks? Because it is NOT funny!" Papyrus shouted.

"No… I wish I were, but I'm not… Frisk… … Brother… Frisk is dead…" Sans felt the reluctant words roll forth, and as expected, their passing left Papyrus in shock.

"S-Sans… this… this isn't a funny joke… not even a little…" Papyrus started to choke up.

"I'm sorry bro… but I can't keep something like this from you…" Sans looked down, a tear falling from his face.

"But… who? How? What happened Sans?" Papyrus started crying as well.

"…The kiddo wanted to save the prince… apparently they'd met before… and something that transpired between them wouldn't stop bothering Frisk… exactly what, I'm not sure… but I don't really care at this point, not like it's a surprise…" Sans's blue eye turned deeper, as tears kept falling from his sockets, his permanent smile reflecting anything but joy

"Frisk… why? Everybody that we tell… Undyne… Alphys… Asgore… T-T-Toriel!" Papyrus broke down, crying into his gauntlets. "Mettaton! Monster Kid! Napstablook! Everybody will be so sad to hear this!"

"I'll tell them Papyrus… I'll be back before too long…" Sans spoke emotionlessly, too empty to feel anything, but too hollow to do nothing

"No, Sans… I, The Great Papyrus will go with you, to be there for you, and all of my other friends…" Papyrus exclaimed

"Well, if you're sure… then you can come… I guess they'll need all the comfortthey can get after hearing such tragic news…"


End file.
